(Intro by Daniela Forte) In 2017, we saw a tremendous number of changes happen in the retail industry. Artificial intelligence and virtual/augmented reality were just starting to take flight in terms of marketing to customers.

Amazon bought Whole Foods, changing how we thought about grocery as a whole. Voice ordering was all people could talk about as products like Amazon Echo and Google Home were changing the way people shop.

We saw Walmart take aim at Amazon with its checkout-less stores, its offer of free two-day shipping, testing in-home grocery delivery and partner with Google to making it possible for customers to voice order. The list goes on here.

We can expect to see more of the in-store and online battle as retailers push to win over customers by meeting them where it’s most convenient and caters to their needs and expectations.

Many in the industry called 2017 a “retail apocalypse” and there were certainly strong elements of this. There were hundreds of store closings and several major bankruptcy filings as companies felt the ongoing pain of retail’s evolution. But the year ended on a high note with loads of anecdotal evidence of stronger-than-expected holiday sales; final figures will be in later this month.

Below, some industry experts provide their predictions on where retail, and B2C commerce in general, will be headed in 2018.

Greg Zakowicz

Amazon, Walmart and Winning Over Customers

Brick-and-mortar stores will continue trying to position themselves as a more customer-friendly shopping option. Meanwhile, online retailers will keep offering deep discounts to attract and retain customers. Consumers will continue to demand free and quick shipping, as that is the new standard. Brick-and-mortar, if done right, can use this to their advantage by enhancing their buy online, pickup in store (BOPIS) offerings.

One big battle will be in online grocery, where the likes of Amazon, Walmart, Target and Kroger are all trying to find ways to win over customers in the at-home-delivery market. This will not be solved in 2018.

The most intriguing aspect to me is how voice will continue to develop. Amazon is already trying to figure out how ads can be delivered via this medium. For name brands, figuring out how they will be able to compete in this Amazon-driven environment will be critical to defining if they view the ecommerce leader as friend or foe.

Who will Amazon acquire next? From a retail standpoint, they’re making a move into the superstore-type format. This will not only help them sell more private label brands but also provide a location for BOPIS and returns, which in turn cuts shipping costs. I don’t think all the Target chatter makes sense. A store footprint the size of Kohl’s seems about right to me.Ultimately, I see the bigger news story with Amazon being in the business and entertainment space, not just in direct-to-consumer retail. I can see something that would overlap with Amazon Web Services, such as an ecommerce platform solution. I could also see a media creation/distribution company acquisition that would make them a much stronger player in not only acquiring new Prime customers, but becoming a major over-the-top media provider.

This was originally published on Multichannel Merchant.

Greg Zakowicz is a eCommerce and retail marketing speaker, analyst, strategist, and award-winning podcaster whose experience spans email, mobile, and social media marketing. More about Greg here.